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Dear Colleague

Please find enclosed UNISON alternative proposal to the Children’s Services Restructure. Our proposal is based on the widespread responses from UNISON members working in Children’s Services. We are intending on submitting our proposal to the Director but want members to discuss and respond to our draft.

To view click here

It is important in these stark economic times, with the ongoing criticism of the number of senior management posts and high salaries in the public sector, that we avoid top heavy management structures. Our proposal has only 3 senior management roles as opposed to the 5 in the Directors’ proposal.

Children’s Services is the most high profile service the Council delivers and the consequences of poor performance are exceedingly high. The Climbié & Baby Peter inquiries are a constant reminder of what is at stake. It is our view and the view of our members that the proposed restructure is potentially dangerous and could undermine the already excellent safeguarding and social work practice being delivered by staff.  The Social Work Task Force said the ‘voice of social care’ needs to be heard within Children’s Services. It is our view the Directors proposal does the opposite. The restructure lowers the social care profile across the service which makes the structure unsafe. It is vitally important there is a strong Safeguarding oversight across the whole of the Children’s workforce as more and more services are carrying out work with vulnerable children and their families. It is worth remembering that the Climbié inquiry reinforced the need for integrated approach which we believe the Directors restructure does the opposite. 

The Directors restructure is based on an outdated silo approach where ‘whole children’ are split into silos. This approach is not holistic, not integrated and is contrary to the future shape cross cutting theme being adopted across other Directorate restructures. 

In our restructure we have noted that a number of services that were included in Policy, Performance and Planning are currently being transferred in to the Future Shape Support organisation. We see this as an opportunity in terms of the current capacity for development of a coordinated, integrated commissioning structure.

Message to our members working on Education teams in Children’s Services.

We have not had much response from our members working in the Education/Schools teams and would strongly urge our members to read and send in your comments.

We urge members to share this DRAFT with colleagues, discuss in team meetings and send any comments to john.burgess@barnetunison.org.uk by Friday 23^rd April 2010.

The biggest costs for any organisation public or private are staff costs. That is why staff are quite rightly concerned when they hear they could be transferred out of the Council into another organisation.  

When staff are transferred out of the council what are the risks for those staff?

We commissioned a report to look at the risks to staff if they are transferred out of the Council under Secondment, TUPE Plus, TUPE arrangements.

To view the report click here

As I was marching with the Barnet UNISON banner pass Whitehall on Saturday I had a piece of paper pushed into my hand. I am not sure it is genuine but none of the mainstream parties appear to be saying anything about job cuts, despite the fact less than 6 months ago they were calling for savage cuts to jobs, pensions.

There have been rumours that an emergency budget would be called after the General Election. It is disappointing that politicians are frightened to say what they are planning for fear they won’t be elected.

Anyway have a look at this!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SO2DWGAd17Y

 

‘A Manifesto for Council Housing’ Congress House, London.

Throughout the conference every speaker recognised the good work that Alan Walter had done to defend council housing prior to his untimely death. Speakers in the first part of the morning spoke of the housing situation in their own boroughs as well as an overview of the national picture. They all spoke of a need to make serious financial reforms.

Austin Mitchell MP reported that a major council house building and renovation programme will meet the urgent need of the 1.8 million households on council waiting lists. He stated that £2,000 grants to first time buyers and notional 10% shares for tenants will drive up house prices and encourage yet more borrowing by those least able to afford it. In his view the Governments latest Reform proposals to allow councils to keep more of tenants’ rents are welcome but do not go far enough. ‘The government has been willing to write off all the debt for homes in stock transfers. It is unjust that they are refusing to do the same for council tenants.’

Frank Dobson MP spoke of the ‘rent robbery’ whereby for decades the government had been taking rent monies and not giving enough money for the upkeep of council homes. Ministers claim much of this money is used to pay for ‘historic debt’. A large amount of the debt is actually new debt finance for the ALMOs. Despite its claims the government put no new money into ALMOs; rather council tenants collectively pay from their rents. He spoke of the fact that bad housing affects lives, as in health and education.

Other speakers included Pete Challis, National Housing Officer for UNISON who spoke of the Tories who have said they will give money for housing but who will take from other services such as refuse and homecare in order to pay for it. Simon Hughes MP mentioned the Labour Manifesto that wanted councils to be able to borrow at a lower rate of interest and promised a mass new build programme with apprenticeships. Insulation would be offered for homes and local authorities would be able to use section 606 money to build housing or renovate estates. Jack Dromey, Deputy General Secretary UNITE,  Linda McNeil, Leeds Tenants Federation, Paul O’Brien, APSE Scottish Tenants Organisation, Cllr Deborah Edwards, exec member for Housing, Reading City Council and the Chair – Eileen Short of DCH all contributed.

The second part of the morning was taken up with a workshop concentrating on Finance Reforms – are they good for tenants?

Councillor Catherine Smart, exec member housing, Cambridge City Council, gave her views as a member of the Lib Dems. She spoke of the stupidity of rents being set only two weeks before tenants are informed and how this does not allow for any planning.

Councillor Phil Waker, exec member housing for Barking and Dagenham Council, explained how it was impossible to get money to pull down old buildings and in his borough they had 5 regeneration estates that needed to be knocked down. He also spoke of the large amount of residents in private rented accommodation, paying high rents that are being paid for by Housing Benefit. If there were more council properties available this money would be saved. In his area the BNP are using housing as a means to attract members by saying that immigrants are taking all the council housing.

Steve Partridge, Chartered Institute of Housing then gave a detailed explanation of the expected Reform. Six local councils piloted the scheme in 2006 -08. A project team was set up from a range of services and organisations. There had been three work streams – Financial detail, Technicalities, and Capacity and Awareness building. The last group will be holding workshops for tenants later in the Spring. Consultation will continue over the election period and a response will be given at the end of June/July.

Requests for willingness to work with the scheme will go out in April 2011.

The proposal is to dismantle 30yrs worth of future HRA subsidy in one go and share it out nationally to 172 local authorities. Rents will be retained locally as will Right to Buy receipts. The system of council grants on offer is not enough money for repairs and decent homes’ works. The new system will allow more transparency on what is paying for what.

Recommendations for the future included

• Ring fencing the national Housing Revenue Account and ensuring that all council tenants’ rents are spent on their homes.
• Raise allowances for management, maintenance and major repairs. To be set at a level determined by independent research.
• Ensure that any formula for allowances is based on a 30 year settlement for long term stability.
• Ring fence all right to buy receipts to be used to improve existing and new build council housing.
• Write off or take direct responsibility form the cost of historic debt and remove this element from the housing subsidy system.
• The government must fulfil its promise to provide capital grants to meet the backlog of work for both Decent Homes and other elements.
• Local ring fencing, enforce a set of accounting rules to ensure that the costs of all shared services are correctly apportioned between the Housing Revenue Account and the general fund.
• Provide a public sector safety net as part of any self financing agreement.
• Enable a massive programme of new build council building
• Moratorium on stock transfer and other privatisation of council housing assets and land until Review outcome and implications are fully implemented.
• Protect secure, affordable and democratically accountable council housing – no undermining, means testing or time limiting secure tenancies
• Improve the guidance on stock transfer ballots to ensure a fair and balanced debate.

Anne Denison. UNISON Convenor for Barnet Homes.

Pensioner Betty Martin, the Co chair of the UK Pensioners Strategy Committee is determined to join the demonstration on Monday 22nd March to save the UK’s Resident Sheltered Housing Wardens.  The demonstration starts at 12.00pm in Parliament Square and continues at 1.00pm outside Tory Headquarters, 30 Milbank where a letter will be handed in for the attention of David Cameron.  The message is (Are you going to change the law to protect Resident Sheltered Housing Wardens?  We need to know now, so we can advise the five hundred thousand tenants of sheltered housing and their supporters who to vote for.) 

After the demonstration a delegation of sheltered housing tenants will hand in similar letters at the Liberal Democrat Headquarters for Nick Clegg, and 10 Downing for the Prime Minister.

For more click here